Parenthood
by chemicalxrachel
Summary: After the anime, Kagome finally returns to the feudal era. It didn't take her long to find out she was pregnant with Inuyasha's child. Is the couple ready for the new parenthood responsibilities?
1. Chapter 1

Summary: After the series end, Naraku was killed, the jewel vanquished, and the Bone Eaters Well locked away for three years before Kagome could return. Inuyasha had vowed to himself that he would make her happy once she'd returned. And, it didn't take long before Kagome found out she was pregnant. How will the inuhanyou adapt to being a new father?

A/N: Hey guys! This is another story I'm going to work on at the same time as my Single Father series. This one is sort of the same idea, except its with Kagome there with them and he's actually there for the pregnancy and all that. I will most likely re-use my character Tamako. But, this is in no way connected to the other story.

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Chapter 1: Expecting.

"Inuyasha, you're driving me crazy." Kagome said as she sat by the fire. She was eight and a half months pregnant, and Inuyasha hovered entirely too much for her liking. It was sweet at first, but the way he hovered now it was almost nerve wracking. "Just...sit down, okay? Relax. I'll clean up dinner."

"No! You will sit right there and I'll clean." the hanyou said with a small smile to his wife. "I insist." he said. Moving about the hut to gather the dishes and start cleaning up from their dinner. It was usually Kagome who cleaned and cooked, but since she'd gotten pregnant he helped out a lot more. It almost felt like he wouldn't let her do anything some days.

Sighing a little. "I'm pregnant, not dying. Come on koi..." she said. Taking his hand when he was close and gently bringing him close to her, smiling. "Sit down, you're making me nervous." she said.

Smiling as he took a seat behind her, his legs parting so she could settle in-between them. Slowly his arms moved around her waist, resting his hands on her stomach and kissing the back of her ear. "I can't help it. I've never been a dad before, and I don't want you hurting yourself and the baby trying to take care of me."

Looking back at him, she just smiled to him, leaning and kissing him slowly. "We're not going to get hurt. Women have been having babies for hundreds of years. Having babies and taking care of their households. You see the pregnant women out on the fields. I can surely clean up a little dinner."

"Oh, no mate of mine is going to be pregnant working in fields. No. I may not be able to give you everything my mother had..but I will not let you have to work during this time. Your only job right now is growing our pup."

She giggled slowly. "Oh Inuyasha." she said, leaning and kissing him slowly, brushing her nose against his. "You are too sweet. I love you, and the baby and me are fine."

"Pup." he said.

"Baby." she argued back playfully with a smile. "When humans have children they're called babies."

"Yeah well, when inuyoukai have kids, they're called pups." he argued right back with a smile.

"Oh is that so?" she asked, giggling and cuddling close to him, looking down at her stomach. "Have you thought up a name for our pup slash baby yet?" she asked. While in her time the women had more of a say in the name of their child, here in the feudal era the father always named the child, just as Inu no Taisho had named Inuyasha before he died. And since they were living in the feudal era, she would allow him to name the baby.

"Hmm...I'm not sure. It would depend on if its a boy or a girl."

"If its a boy?" she asked.

He thought for a moment, holding her. "Isao." he told her.

"And a girl?"

"Tamako." he answered, quicker in his answer than he had been before.

His quickness made her glance to him with a smile. "You seem certain of the girls name."

Nodding slowly. "It just feels right..." he said, looking down at his mate with a small smile.

Shifting against him. "Oww...well, the baby sure is awake tonight." she said, feeling a kick against her stomach. Gently moving to take Inuyasha's hand, leading it to where the baby was kicking on her stomach.

A broad smile spread across his lips as he felt the baby kick against his hand, looking down at her stomach. "Hey there little pup. You should calm down and let your mama rest." he said, rubbing her stomach softly. It was so surreal to him, that he'd made the small life force that was growing in his wife's stomach. It was surreal to him that he had a wife in the first place. He was a hanyou, after all, and humans didn't seem to like him. But, Kagome was different. Very different.

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She had been uncomfortable all night, the baby didn't let her rest, and Inuyasha was up most of the night trying to ease her discomfort a little.

And the next morning, he'd gone and caught some fish for breakfast while she worked on making the rice above the fire. Gently pouring the right amount of rice into the pot, Kagome grit her teeth a little in pain. A sharp pain went through her stomach. The cup she'd been holding the rice in fell from her fingers, falling with a clatter on the ground, raw rice spilling everywhere.

Going down to her knees, she blushed a little, feeling liquid slip down her inner thighs. Her water had just broken. And Inuyasha was out fishing.

"Oh no...oh...ohhh...Inuuu..." she started, one hand finding her stomach and gritting her teeth, her other hand resting on the ground, trying to grip the wood. "Yashaaaaa..." she completed.

The pain came sharp and fast, gripping her whole body. Letting out a small yell, closing her eyes tighter. "INUYASHA!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping he had not gone too far.

And, he hadn't. Upon hearing his mate scream, he dropped the fish he'd had and sprinted to the hut as fast as his legs would carry him. Shoving open the door, he moved to her side, resting one hand on her arm. "Kagome? Kagome whats wrong?" he asked frantically.

"Get...get...get Kaede...n-nowwww..." she said. One hand moved to his haori, her fingers digging into it as she let out a small yell as the pain overtook her. "NOW!" she demanded, letting his haori go.

And he did. Running out of the hut and to the village to get Kaede.

He didn't even give the old miko time to walk, he carried her instead. Running with her back to the hut and sitting her down, walking inside with him.

Upon seeing the scene, Kaede started ordering Inuyasha to help. He didn't even snap at the fact that he was being ordered around by an old human woman, he just moved to help. Getting Kagome to lay on the futon, and getting the water and towels that Kaede asked for. And then, he was shooed from the hut.

His ears drooped as he walked to the hut door.

"Inu...yashaa...no, please...please Inuyasha..." Kagomes pained voice came, looking up at her husband. "Please...don't...please..." she said on the verge of tears. She'd never been in so much pain before.

Looking to Kaede, he nodded a bit. "I won't leave her." he said, even though it wasn't customary for a male to be in the birthing room. Moving to sit behind Kagome, helping her lean back against him so part of him was underneath her. Gently he moved to take her hands, holding her and kissing the top of her head. "I'm right here."

Smiling weakly her thanks to him, the young woman took ahold of her husbands hands, leaning against him.

She listened to Kaede, and when it was time to push, she did. Pushing hard, a harsh scream ripping through her throat. Her fingers gripping Inuyasha's in a strength that he did not even know she possessed.

As she pushed hard, breaking whenever Kaede told her to, she fell back against Inuyasha, panting and breathing hard, a layer of sweat over her skin. "I can't do this..I can't do this. I'm done. I can't...no more."

Inuyasha smiled to her, taking a towel and wiping her forehead, kissing the top of her head. "We can't just stop here you know. We're sort of in it for the long haul. Come on, Kagome. You can do this, I know you can. And I'm right here for you. Always here for you."

Listening to her husbands words, she took in a few deep breaths, nodding. "Okay..okay..." she said. She had not once cussed him out so far, had not once threatened to never let him touch her again. Those had been things they'd heard Sango scream about Miroku as she'd given birth. But not Kagome. Of course, Miroku and Inuyasha sat outside the hut while Sango had given birth, and Inuyasha was right there with Kagome.

"Aye child, one more hard push and ye may be done yet." Kaede promised.

Nodding slowly, Inuyasha helped brace Kagome for the push. Holding onto her hands as she pushed hard, gritting her teeth, a scream ripping through her, her fingers gripping ahold of Inuyasha's as tight as they knew how.

After that last push, she fell back against Inuyasha, panting hard. Soft, small cries started to fill the hut. None of them even noticed that the sun had already started going down, she'd been in labor all day.

Hearing the cries of their baby, Kagome smiled, letting her eyes closed as she lay back against her husband, taking in sharp, hard breaths. Her fingers loosened against his.

"Its a girl." Kaede said, carefully cutting the cord that still connected Kagome and the child. Taking a towel and wiping the baby off as she cried, looking up at the couple. Once the baby was cleaned enough, slowly she moved to hand her to Kagome.

Smiling slowly, Kagome took her daughter in her arms, looking down at her and smiling. The child still had her eyes closed as she cried out. She already had dark silver hair on her head, and dog ears that were plastered against her head. Gently Kagome moved to wipe them off a little, seeing as the ears peaked up on the baby.

"She's perfect..." Kagome said slowly, one finger slowly tracing her daughters cheek.

Inuyasha looked down at the small bundle held in Kagome's arms, a smile spreading across his face and nodding. "Yes, Tamako is perfect." he declared. He was almost afraid to reach out and touch her. She looked so tiny in Kagome's arms, so tiny and fragile.

"Tamako...my sweet little Tamako." Kagome said with a smile, cradling the baby against her chest and humming softly to her.

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Kaede had made sure Kagome was okay before she cleaned up and left. She'd helped Kagome wash off the baby completely, as well. And now, Kagome laid in their futon with Tamako laying just next to her. Kagome was out cold, it'd been a long, long day, and Inuyasha had insisted she get some sleep.

But, Inuyasha was not asleep. He sat next to the futon, looking down at the baby laying there intently.

Seeing her move and hearing her let out a small coo, Inuyasha smiled a little. He couldn't believe that was his pup, his daughter laying there.

Tamako slowly stirred, opening her eyes just a little and looking around. She had brilliant golden brown eyes, a perfect mixture of her parents colors. Slowly she glanced at her father, a coo coming from her lips and reaching her fingers up to him.

Blinking a little as he watched the girl. Seeing her reach to him, he didn't initially take her. But, she started to fuss, sniffling and threatening to cry.

"Shh shh shh no crying you'll wake your mama." he said. Gently reaching down, he brought the girl up into his arms. Bringing her up against his chest, trying his best to hold her the way Kagome had before.

Tamako let out another cooing noise as she looked up at her fathers face. One tiny hand reached up to his face, and he leaned his face down to her so she could touch.

Her hand found his nose, and he just smiled at the touch. "Hey there to you, too." he said, rubbing her back gently. "Kami...I love you so much, little Tamako. You and your mama are my world." he said.

Nobody had ever captured his heart so completely except Kagome. But, the first time he looked at his daughter, she captured his whole heart.

"I swear to you, I'll always keep you safe. You won't grow up like me...you'll have a mother, _and_ a father. You'll never know what its like to be alone. I promise." he whispered softly.

Glancing at Kagome, seeing her shift, he moved to stand up so he wouldn't wake her. Carrying Tamako with him as he walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. Sitting by the fire pit area, looking down at the girl and smiling as she cooed and made soft gurgling noises against his chest. He was so happy in that instant. He had everything he thought he'd never be allowed to have in his life. A family. And he would see to it that his daughter would want for nothing, and would never be alone.


	2. Newborn

A/N: 'Ello again guys! Here is my second chapter :-). I have to say, I've enjoyed writing for this site a lot. I also have another story called Single Father Inuyasha, which is almost 30 chapters long at the time of putting this chapter out. And one called Naraku's Puppet. I haven't done much with that one yet, but I'm working on it. With school and work, and juggling around several different stories, some don't get updated as much.

I also want to publish a SesshoumaruxRin story soon. And perhaps a TamakoxKouga one based in the future. Unless I decide to make that one apart of another. I don't know haha. I just know I've been having a lot of fun with it and I'm really happy that everyone seems to enjoy my writings.

If anyone has any suggestions on a story, plot, pairing, or what not for Inuyasha, or maybe another anime, let me know! I think I might venture into doing fics about other animes such as Sailor Moon, Blue Gender, 08th MS Team, Gundam 0083. Let me know if you'd like to see anything like that from me! :-).

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Chapter 2: Newborn

Being a parent was not easy. Even with a baby as good as Tamako. She didn't cry too much, not nearly as much as Sango's kids had. She'd actually slept and been relatively quiet throughout the nights, only waking in order to get fed like all newborns needed to be. But, when she did cry, they didn't know what she wanted. It was a learning process.

Inuyasha was always so iffy about holding his newborn daughter. She was so fragile and he was afraid he would drop her or something, or maybe hold her too tight, or maybe his claws would be too sharp for the newborn.

And, she was crying now, and she hadn't stopped for almost an hour now. The crying pierced Inuyasha's sensitive ears, pinning to his head as he watched Kagome pace back and forth with the baby.

"I don't know what to do! Oh Tamako what is it you need? Come on honey stop crying for mama.." she whined.

Inuyasha looked at them, sighing. "Maybe she's hungry?"

"No I just tried feeding her." she answered. Looking at the baby, pouting and moving to push Tamako into Inuyasha's arms. "Here, you take a turn. I need some fresh air."

He took the baby, blinking as he held her, looking from Tamako to Kagome. "Wa-wait Kagome! I...I don't know! Waittt!" he said as he watched her start to walk to the door.

"Oh for Kami's sake Inuyasha you'll be fine. You're her father. Give me a break." she said, walking out of the hut.

Looking down at his young daughter, Inuyasha pouted a little. "Well...come on, settle down for daddy?" he asked. Moving to sit down by the fire pit, looking at Tamako and shifting her in his arms.

Slowly he started to hum to her, having no better ideas. Rocking her slowly, looking down at her. Quietly he started to sing to her. "Spring is coming, spring is coming, Where is spring now? Here in the mountains, here in the village, And here in the fields." he sung softly to her.

He'd never sang before, but he hoped it would calm his daughter down. And, it was working. He started to stop the song as her tears stopped. But, she looked up at him, whining as she threatened to cry.

Chuckling, he continued. "Flowers bloom, flowers bloom, where do flowers bloom? Here in the mountains, here in the village, and here in the fields." he sang quietly, cradling her and rubbing her back slowly, a smile crossing over his face as she quieted down.

"Birds are singing, birds are singing, where do birdies sing? Here in the mountains, here in the village, and here in the fields." he sang quietly, finishing the song.

As he finished, she started to settle down and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Holding his daughter close to him, humming the tune to the song quietly to her, cradling her gently.

"Aww...thats so cute, koi." Kagome said from the door with a smile.

Looking up at his wife, he grinned. "Eavesdropping?"

"Mmhm, I didn't want to interrupt your song. It was cute. Where'd you learn it?" she asked, moving to sit next to her husband and looking at Tamako in his arms, watching her sleep, being careful to whisper.

Looking back to his daughter, he smiled. "My mother used to sing it to me. I don't remember much about her...but when I was upset...she'd sing that to me. Especially in spring. It was the best season all the time..."

Listening to him, she smiled. "Wow. I never realized you could be so deep." she said, looking at him, reaching up to take ahold of one of his ears, rubbing it slowly and gently in her fingers.

The appendage twitched a little in her fingers as he shot a look to her. "Hey, I can be deep if I want to be."

"Yeah I know, but showing it isn't your strong suit. You're good with her. Next time she cries I'll just give her to you."

Smiling and moving his eyes back to his daughter. "She's so tiny...I'm afraid I'll hurt her. That my claws will be too sharp by accident or I'll drop her or hold her too tight. I've..never held a kid before. And this isn't just any kid, its _my_ pup..." he said slowly. Looking back to his mate and smiling gently. "You've given me so much Kagome...more than I could ever imagine."

He hadn't even snapped at her for touching his ears like he would have before. He had definitely calmed down around her. Around others, he was still his same harsh self, rarely showing his deeper emotions other than annoyance or anger.

Laying her head on his shoulder, looking down at Tamako, she smiled gently. "You deserve this. We do. We fought hard against Naraku and saved Japan. We deserve a family." she said, looking up at her husband, smiling and leaning to kiss his cheek.

"I just never thought this would happen. I do not have the first idea on how to be a father..."

"You're a perfect father. I have no clue on how to be a mother either. We're learning." she said. "Now why don't you put her down to bed and I'll put out the fire."

"Put her to bed? But...but..." he said, looking down at Tamako. Sighing a little before he stood up, walking into the bedroom. For now Tamako usually slept in there with them. He'd fashioned a crib out of what Kagome told him what they looked like from her time. It was small, and made out of wood. It wasn't quite like the ones found in Future Tokyo, but it was enough.

Moving to kneel next to the crib, reaching to move the blanket a little that was in it for padding. Laying her down into it as carefully as he could, looking down at her, smiling. Taking another small blanket and moving it to tuck her in. Sitting there, watching for a moment.

Feeling Kagome's hand on his shoulder, he glanced back at her and smiling.

"See, you did it. Come to bed Inuyasha." she said. Letting his shoulder go before walking to the futon. Moving to take off her outer kimono, leaving her in her inner white sleeping kimono. Shifting to lay out their futon. Laying down and glancing at him.

He hadn't slept in a futon when they'd been traveling. But, since they were home he did. Taking his tetsusaiga off and resting it by the bed. He reached to take off his fire rat haori to be comfortable. Resting it to one side and moving to get into the futon with Kagome.

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The night was peaceful. That was, until a certain time when all newborns woke up. Kagome had gotten up with her twice to feed her. The second time was near dawn, and Inuyasha was starting to stir fully awake. He'd awoken when Tamako had, but Kagome always told him to go back to sleep.

Shifting in the futon, Inuyasha yawned, opening his eyes and glancing around. A deep blush spread over his cheeks as his eyes fell on Kagome.

She was sitting there, nursing their daughter. One side of her kimono was down, Tamako suckling on her breast like all newborns did.

Watching for a minute, he blushed, turning his head away and sitting up, gulping a little. "M-M-Morning..." he stuttered a little bit.

Hearing him, Kagome looked up at him, giggling a bit. "Morning. You act as though you've never seen me naked before. I'm pretty sure you have. We wouldn't have gotten Tamako if you hadn't."

"Y-yeah I know..." he said slowly. Moving to stand up, taking his haori and pulling it on. "I'm...going to go catch breakfast." he said before walking out.

Kagome only smiled, shaking her head and looking down at Tamako, giggling. "Papa's embarrassed I think. What do you think?" she asked, rubbing her back. She was tired, but it wasn't that bad.

Once Tamako was done eating, slowly she shifted her up, bringing back up her kimono and standing up slowly. Walking out of the room and into the living room, smiling a little as she moved to get breakfast ready. Laying Tamako down on a cushion, making sure she would not roll off of it. Standing up and starting to put a pot of water on the fire for breakfast.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed! :-). The song Inuyasha sang is a traditional Japanese song called "Spring has come." Sorry its a little short, next one will be longer I promise :-).


	3. Exhaustion

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Chapter 3: Exhaustion

Being a father was probably the best thing that happened to him. He loved his little girl, so much. He was so determined to keep her safe, and now both her and Kagome were his entire life. But it was beyond stressful for the both of them. They had no idea how to be parents, and a lot of things were guesses, learning through trial and error.

But one thing that sucked was they rarely got to sleep through the night. Well, _Kagome_ rarely got to sleep through the night. Often times when the baby would wake up, Inuyasha would roll over and it'd be Kagome that got up.

Tamako was a little over four months old now, and was getting so big. She was growing fast, it seemed like she grew a little every day.

That night Kagome had gotten no sleep at all, Tamako had just fussed most of the night. Kagome could swore the child was teething with the way she fussed. But, she wasn't too sure. They didn't have baby books here in the feudal era the way they had in her time. And it wasn't like she could go back to get the books. Or her mother. Or both. And, Tamako was not a normal human child. She was a hanyou child, and her demon blood could have escalated the whole growing process a little.

And while Inuyasha had been gone all day, she was trying to get her chores finished with a screaming baby. It was close to the time Inuyasha got home, and she was trying to get dinner finished and make Tamako lay down for a nap or something, anything to give her a break. They had a small cradle in the living room that Inuyasha had made for their daughter. And she'd just finally gotten Tamako to lay down for a nap. Laying the infant in the cradle carefully, a sigh leaving her lips.

"Finally..." she whispered softly to herself. She could finish cooking this way, too.

Walking back to chop up the rabbit Inuyasha had brought by earlier for her to cook, carefully placing the pieces of rabbit into a pot of stew above the fire.

Just then, Inuyasha walked in through the door, brushing the mat that was the front door to one side and walking in. "Hey, something smells great." he said, looking up at his wife with a smile.

Looking back at him, she glared, shaking her head. "Shhh!" she sushed. "I just put the baby down for a nap."

He nodded knowingly, a small pout forming on his lips, his ears drooping a little. He'd sort of looked forward to seeing his little girl when he came home. Walking towards the cradle that sat in the corner of the room, moving to sit next to it and looking down into it at his daughter, smiling softly.

Sometimes, he could just stare at her in wonder all day long. She was so perfect, so tiny. Half him and half Kagome. He loved it. But since she was sleeping, he would just watch her as she slept.

Gently he rested one hand on the edge of the cradle, causing it to rock a bit. The small motion made the child stir in her sleep. A sniffle came from the girl as she opened her brilliant golden eyes, looking up at her father. Sniffling a little, a cry coming from her lips, both of her small hands reaching up to the man above her.

With the cry, he swore he heard Kagome growl. She glared at him. "Inuyasha! God damnit! I told you not to wake the baby!" she yelled. Walking over and pushing him out of the way, moving to pick up Tamako. "Inuyasha, Sit." she said after he was safely away from their daughter.

A yelp came from the hanyou as he was pulled to the ground by the beads around his neck. Kagome rarely ever used them anymore, but they were still there. By now the subjugation beads were a part of him, and he truthfully forgot they existed sometimes. "Keh, it was an accident, wench!" he yelled from his spot against the floor.

Glaring at him again, rocking Tamako slowly. "I. Don't. Care! Do you know how exhausted I am!? Do you know what its like to go days without sleep?! Of course you don't. YOU get sleep. I don't. Baka." she said, turning away from him and sighing. She was so exhausted, she just didn't know what to do.

Once the spell wore off, slowly he pressed his palms against the cool wooden floor, pushing up and moving to stand. Walking to his mate, he looked at her slowly, turning her. "Here, give her to me. I'll take her out and you can do whatever it is you want..." he said.

She looked at him almost unbelieving of what he was saying. "Are you serious?"

"Yup." he said. Gently moving to scoop his daughter into his arms away from Kagome. Smiling down at the girl. "Come on, princess. Daddy's gunna take you for a walk so we can let mommy have some alone time. How does that sound? Huh?" he asked, bouncing her in his arms a little.

Before Kagome could protest, he was walking out the front door in which he'd just came, cradling their daughter in his arms. While she was still small, he was a lot more confident in holding her. At first he'd been afraid he was going to hurt the small girl and hold her too tight. But he'd practiced and gotten better at holding her.

He smiled at his daughter as he walked. "You should stop driving mommy crazy, you know. That might be bad for both our healths." he said with a chuckle.

Tamako looked up at her father, blinking as she watched him talk to her. Her crying had stopped once she was in her fathers arms, the instant he took her from Kagome she'd seemed to calm down. It was him the child wanted to be near. She'd seen her fathers face, and nothing would do but being in her fathers arms. She knew what she wanted and she was determined to get it. At such a young age, she couldn't verbally say 'Hey, daddys home, I want daddy to hold me.' No, so she'd just had to cry.

When he chuckled, a small smile formed over her lips as she started giggling happily in his arms, drool dribbling down her chin a little. Both hands reached up to his face, making small noises of content in her fathers arms.

He smiled at her demeanor. "So, you wanted daddy, huh?" he asked. Moving to sit against a tree, looking down at her. "Is that why you were crying? Be nice for mommy though, please princess?" he asked, rubbing her back slowly.

Her golden brown eyes looked up at him curiously as he spoke. She didn't understand his words, but she liked listening to his voice. It was deep and comforting. And being close to him made her feel content. He was gone all day, and she only got to see him when he'd come home. So it made her want to be around him when he got home. She was already turning into a daddys-girl, too. When he was home, she'd cling to him as much as they'd let her.

She watched him as he talked, listening to his voice, watching his mouth curiously. One hand reached to him slowly and her fingers moved to take ahold of his mouth, her tiny fingers moving inside his mouth to catch his bottom lip and some of his teeth a little.

The action made him blink, looking at her. Instantly he was fearful she would catch one of her fingers on his fangs and hurt herself. Thinking before he smiled a bit, bringing his bottom and top lips over his teeth, playfully chewing on her fingers and being careful not to hurt her.

A giggle came from the girl as he did that. Moving her mouth to mimic his actions, chewing on the air.

Laughing at his daughter, he leaned back to pull her fingers from his mouth. Leaning and kissing the side of her head. Nothing could make him happy quicker than his daughter or his wife. And, he was probably just as fascinated with Tamako as Tamako was with him. As Tamako was getting bigger, she started to stare at people as if she were analyzing them. And, he could sit for hours just staring at her. She was perfect in his eyes.

"Look at the big girl." he cooed to her. She giggled, making soft noises, babbling incoherent syllables that didn't mean anything.

"Can you say daddy yet? Huh?" he asked.

She looked at him in wonder, blinking a little as she watched his lips. Making noises, but she didn't make the noises that he were trying to get from her.

"Ah, don't worry about it, princess. You'll get there." he told her.

Leaning her head towards him, resting it against her fathers chest, her cheek against him. Looking up a little, she noticed the subjugation beads he wore. Gently one of her hands reached to touch it, her fingers moving to grip the beads tightly in her little fingers. Bringing them a little to her, she leaned to start chewing on them, her eyes looking up at her father innocently.

Shaking his head a little. "No no Tamako, those are not something you should be eating." he said, moving to try and take the beads from the girls mouth.

But, she sniffled at this movement, her fingers gripping the beads a little tighter as her fathers hand moved to take them away from her. She wanted to chew on those beads, and she would be damned if she'd give them up.

"Come onnn, stop that. Those are not good for you to chew on..." he said, trying to pry the beads from her fingers without hurting her. He was still afraid he would hurt her in some form or another since she was so much smaller than him. And, her grip wasn't bad either, not for a baby anyway.

Thinking for a minute, he sighed. "Okay, how 'bout this...I'll trade ya." he said. Moving his hand off his beads, he offered her one of his fingers. He knew she wouldn't hurt herself on chewing on his finger like she could his beads.

She almost seemed like she understood him. Looking from his face to his finger, slowly she let go of the beads, letting them drop from her mouth. Reaching her hand to take the base of his pointer finger and bringing it to her mouth, leaning to start chewing on his finger. She didn't put the tip of his claw into her mouth, but she was chewing on the length of his finger.

Looking up at him happily as she chewed, drool dribbling down her chin and down his finger a little.

As she chewed, something strange happened. Wincing a little as he felt his finger prick something, quickly and carefully drawing it back and looking at his finger to see a small puncture wound blood dribbling down. "What the..?" he asked. It hadn't really hurt, but it'd felt odd.

Looking down at her slowly, seeing her expression change from happy, to sad, like she were about to cry. "How'd you do that, baby girl? Huh?" he asked. Reaching to gently open her lips, looking inside her mouth. He saw one small fang on her bottom gum forming there.

When he saw it, he grinned slowly. "Gettin' your fangs in first, huh? Well, no wonder you're so cranky...that fang must hurt your gums. Maybe daddy'll see if we can get you something you can chew on..." he suggested.

Thinking though, he wondered if Kagome knew about the fang that was growing. Deciding he had to tell her, he stood up and made his way back to the hut. Moving open the door and looking at Kagome, a grin over his lips. "Kagome!" he said.

Looking up from her stew she was making and towards her hanyou. "Hmm?" she asked.

"Tamako's got _fangs_!" he said happily. "Well, a fang, but still."

"Are. You. Serious?" Kagome asked. Standing up, forgetting the stew pot for a moment and walking to them. Looking at Tamako and smiling. "Does my baby girl have fangs?" she asked. Reaching to do the same thing Inuyasha had done, checking inside the girls mouth, and seeing the same thing he had. A small white pointed fang forming just in her bottom gum.

"See, I told ya! She pricked my finger with it. She was insisting on chewin' on somethin'...so I thought she could have my finger. She did alright." he said.

Looking at her daughter, Kagome smiled, leaning to kiss her cheek. "My baby girls so big, lookie at you." she said happily.

Their daughter was growing her first fangs. It made sense why she seemed extra cranky. She was, in fact, teething. And it were the sharpest teeth that were coming in first.

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	4. Kodak Moments

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Chapter 4: Kodak Moments

Tamako was six months old now, and her fangs had been growing in. This made it pretty difficult for Kagome to breastfeed her daughter. Every time she did, Tamako tended to accidentally prick her skin with her tiny fangs. So, she was trying to get Tamako onto solid foods. She remembered what baby food looked like in her time, so she hoped she could recreate it in the feudal era.

Now, Kagome had a garden, and had been growing things like carrots and other vegetables. Since they were done, Kagome thought she'd try feeding it to her daughter.

She'd been making dinner that night when Inuyasha got home.

And Inuyasha almost instantly went up to the area on the floor his daughter sat on. She was getting so big in his eyes, a lot bigger than before. She could sit up on her own, and babbled endlessly with no real words coming from her mouth.

He smiled as he moved to sit by his daughter, scooping her up in his hands and bringing her up to his chest. "Theres my princess!" he said happily. Leaning and kissing her cheek, nuzzling her with his cheek as he brought her close.

People rarely saw this side of Inuyasha, but he was so sweet and so loving with his daughter and wife. They meant the world to him.

Tamako looked up at her father, her ears twitching a little on top of her head, smiling happily up to him. Reaching one hand up to take ahold of his ear that looked so much like hers.

When she took his hear, he chuckled. "Hey, be careful kiddo." he said, glancing up at her a little.

With his words she looked curiously at his face, slowly letting go of his ear as if she understood what he was saying, smiling and giggling up at her father.

Even if she did tug on his ear, Inuyasha could never be mad at that face. That perfect little face that was his daughters. Oh yeah, he had it bad for his little girl. She meant the world to him. And if he had his own way she'd grow to be a daddy's girl. She already was, anyway. Sometimes only Inuyasha could cease her crying, sometimes she'd only be content if it were her fathers arms she was cradled into, her fathers voice soothing her cries.

Inuyasha didn't know he could love anything so much until the day his daughter was born and he looked into those golden brown eyes.

Bringing her up close to his chest, moving to take a seat on the floor with her and holding her against his chest, smiling to her.

Kagome glanced over, giggling a bit as she watched. She loved watching Inuyasha with their daughter. He just always looked so content just holding her. "Hello to you too." she teased, shaking her head.

She wasn't jealous or anything, it was their daughter. And she knew Inuyasha never thought he'd have a child or a family. She knew how he'd grown up thinking nobody could love a half-demon. And now she'd made it her goal to make sure he knew how much he was loved, how much she absolutely loved him with all her heart. She just had help with that now in the form of Tamako.

Golden eyes looked up at her as he flashed her a soft smile. "Hey. I didn't forget!" he said, laughing.

"Ohh no, its fine. She loves when you come home." she said as she continued to work on fixing dinner. "Maybe _you_ can try to get her to eat real food tonight. She always spits it out at me."

Inuyasha chuckled, laying back on the floor and picking Tamako up, holding her up above him with both of his hands, the sleeves of his haori falling down to show his strong arms as he held his little girl. "Mmm I dunno. How's that sound, baby girl? Think you'll eat for daddy?" he asked.

The child let out a giggle and a squeal as her father held her up in the air. Her little hands reached down for his face, her eyes almost shining as she looked down at him. At least, he thought they were shining.

"Inuyashaaa, she'll get sick if you swing her around like that." Kagome said, rolling her eyes. "And don't whine to me if she spits up straight on your face."

"Oh she won't get sick on me. I'm her favorite." he teased.

And Kagome rolled her eyes again, laughing. "Aint that the truth." she said as she started to go back to what she was doing. "Just be careful, hm? If she spits up on you, you'll be cleaning your haori, not me."

"Deal." he said, his eyes never leaving the little face above his. Gently he brought her down to rest on his chest, rubbing her back slowly in small circles, looking up at the ceiling and closing his eyes halfway as he stared up at the wooden roof above him.

Tamako settled down on her fathers chest, looking up at his face as she slowly pushed herself to sit up on his chest. The movement didn't make him look away as he stared up at the ceiling with an almost dreamy look in his eyes.

It was strange for him to be this happy, he almost wondered when it'd be ripped away from him. Everything that made him happy in the past had always been ripped away. His mother, Kikyou, Kagome for several years. His world would just fall apart if his daughter was ripped away from him too. But somewhere in the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder when it'd happen, how it'd happen. It wasn't as though he meant to be cryptic, it'd just been his experience with good things.

Tamako watched her fathers face, noticing she did not have his full attention, which made the girl pout. Shifting up and resting her hands on her fathers cheeks, leaning over him, making his eyes look up at hers.

And when her eyes invaded his vision, he smiled up at her slowly, chuckling. "What are you doing?" he asked. She was almost as crazy as he was when he was a child. Though, he didn't remember it. He didn't remember much about his childhood, but he'd remembered small things. Like the feeling of being a carefree child. And he was determined to let his daughter grow up happy and carefree.

She looked down at him, blinking a few times at her father. They both fell silent as he looked up into his daughters eyes, his hands making sure to hold her and steady her on his chest.

Kagome glanced over at the two, instantly wishing she had a camera from her time to capture the look on their faces. A smile crossed her lips as she watched, determined to remember every detail of the small interaction of the two of them like that.

Tamako blinked a little down at her father. "Daadaa.." she whined out softly.

At first it sounded like a regular babble like she usually did. But, his ears twitched a little as his eyes widened. "W-What? Say that again, princess?" he asked.

"Dada." she said a bit more sure of herself that she was saying it right.

A smile spread across the hanyous face as she said it again, flashing his fangs a little. "Did you just say dada?" he asked.

"Da-da!" she declared, smiling a little with her fathers smile.

Gently he sat up, bringing her up to his chest as he held her, looking down at her and kissing the tip of her nose. "Thats right baby girl, I'm daddy." he said.

He never thought he'd hear a little voice call him daddy or dada. And right then it was the best thing he'd ever heard. _His_ little girl was calling _him_ her daddy.

She giggled a little at the apparent happiness in her fathers voice. "Dadaa." she said again, her ears twitching a bit more.

Reaching up, Inuyasha rubbed her ears a little, making her press her head into his hand almost like a kitten. She liked having her ears rubbed, they were a sensitive spot on her head just like for her father. Her eyes closed as she cuddled into her fathers touch.

And he smiled at that, glancing up at Kagome slowly. "Did you hear that?"

Kagome smiled to her husband, nodding as she moved from the pot she'd been tending to, sitting next to her family. "I did." she said, looking at Tamako. "You're turning into a real daddy's girl." she said, brushing her hair back a little and glancing at Inuyasha. "I just wish I had a camera from my era. It'd be too perfect here."

"Cam-e-re?" Inuyasha asked confused. He remembered her era, but didn't understand all of the things within it.

Kagome giggled and shook her head. "Camera. It'd take a picture of the moment. You remember that photobooth we got stuck in? And you tried to kill? Those pictures?" she asked.

When he nodded, she smiled a little. "Well, those were just a big camera. There are portable ones. I have a ton of baby pictures. I just wish I could have captured the moment." she said, looking down at their daughter.

But Inuyasha shrugged, looking down at Tamako. "I don't need a picture to remember this. She called me daddy...me..."

"Thats because you are her daddy, koi."

"I know, its just so...unbelievable. It still amazes me...it always will." he said, looking to his wife and leaning to kiss her softly, brushing his nose against hers. "Thank you..."

She kissed him back, smiling up at him. "For what?" she asked.

"For this. Giving her to me. She's the best thing you could have ever given me, Kagome. Both of you are. And...and I...don't say it much, but I love you, and her."

"You don't need to say it. I know it. Just the look on your face when you see us when you come home." she said with a smile, leaning and kissing his cheek before she stood up, moving to finish cooking dinner.

Inuyasha shrugged, looking down at Tamako once Kagome stood up. "I know. But...I feel like I should. Especially to her. She will grow up knowing that I love her more than my own life, and that I'll protect both of you with that very life."

Looking back at him, Kagome smiled. "I know you will, and so will she. And she'll grow up to be just as strong as her daddy."

Chuckling, he nodded. "Yeah she will. But, she won't have to fight to live, not like I did. If I have anything to say about it, she'll never be alone or scared. Ever. I'll always be there to catch her when she falls. Always."

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A/N: Long awaited and short, I know, but its so sweet :-).


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